MMTC, the sole canalising agent for chrome ore, has been allowed by the government to export 300,000 tonnes of the ore a year. MMTC has been buying 1,40,000 tonnes of chrome ore from OMC and 1,35,000 tonnes from Tisco. The remaining 25,000 tonnes is being procured from Mishrilal Jain and Co.Objecting to chrome ore exports by Tisco, OMC has pointed out to the commerce ministry that Tisco has been given the mining lease for captive use so it cannot export the ore.

OMC has based its argument on the Sharma committee's report, which laid down guidelines for allotment of chromite mining leases to user industries. The committee was set up by the Union government on thedirective of the high court.The committee had said user industries should be allotted mining lease according to their captive needs, and recommended that Tisco be allotted 406 hectares and divested of 855ha from the huge area that it had held up to 1993, when its lease came up for renewal.

It had cautioned that if Tisco is allowed to trade with the ore, the reserves in its mining area would be depleted very soon and its charge-chrome plant would become idle rendering many workers jobless. The state will also lose in the absence of value-addition.Interestingly, the state-owned Industrial Development Corp of Orissa Ltd (IDCOL) has requested the commerce ministry and the MMTC to allow export of 50,000 tonnes of its chrome ore per annum. IDCOL has a ferrochrome plant at Jajpur road, and has its own chromite mine in the Tailangi area.

Sources said the state government is not in favour of ore trading by user industries. The state, which recommended the distribution of 427.50ha of chromite mining area inSukinda valley in favour of IMFA-ICCL, Ispat Industries, Jindal and Facor in the ratio of 2:1:1:0.5, had specified that lease holders will not trade with the ore.